Seed planter



-(No Model.)

3 Sheetsr-Sheen l. E. W. VEST.

SEEE PLANTEE.

Patented Sept. 18, 1883.

ATTORNEYS.

(No Model.) i s sheets-sheen 2.

E. W. VEST.'

SEED PLANTEB.

Nd. zaag-184; 'Patented' sein; 18;*1883.

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SEED PLANTBRJ (No Model.)

Patented sept. 18, 1888.

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INVENTUM' @W W 7.4

ATTORNEYS. i

' vation of the same.

UNirEn STATES PATENT Ormea., o

' EUGENE IV. VEST, OF VSEDALIA, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO EDVARDVESTON STEVENS, OF SAME PLACE.

SEEDiPLANTER.`

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 285,184, datedSeptember 18, 1883.

Application tiled August 9, 1883.

(No model.)

T @ZZ whom, t may concer/t.-

Be it known that I, EUGENE NV. VEST, of Sedalia, in the county of Pettisand State of Missouri, have invented a new and useful Improvement inSeed-Planters, of which the following is a.full, clear, and exactdescription, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, forming apart of this specification.

The primary object of this invention is to provide a seed-planter inwhich the depth of the furrow or drill shall be controlled by the weightof the machine, and the invention consists of the novel construction andcombination of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings, Figure lis a perspective view of my seed-planter. Fig.2 is a side ele- Fig. 3 is a plan view of the same, partly broken away.Fig. 4 is a section on line yy of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a section on line wxof Fig. 3, showing a plate for regulating the quantity of drop. Figs. Gand 7 are respectively a section and plan view, showing a modication ofthe dropper. Fig. Sis a detail sectional view, partly broken away. Fig.9 is a section on line w fw of Fig. 8, and Fig. 10 is a perspective viewof the coverer.

In carrying out the primary object of my in vention, as above stated, Iprovide for the arrangement of the runners or furrw-openers directlyunder the supporting-axle of the machine, in order that the weightsupported by the axle shall be adapted to force the said run'- ners intothe ground,while the wheels which carry the aXle shall limit this effectof the weight to prevent sinking the runners into the soil beyond thedepth for which they 'may be set. Vith such a construction the depth ofthe furrow will always be uniform, no matter how uneven the surface ofthe ground may be, Y since the wheels, which always move `on the surfaceof the ground, serve as gages for the runners and compel them to move upor down, according to the undulations or unevenness of the ground. Theadvantages of such a construction are obvious. The entire crop of corn'or other grain will be planted the same depth, producing uniformity ofgrowth, and as the runners are to bemade adjustable, the depth of theplanting may be regulated-according to the requirement of eachparticular kind of grain,without the danger of planting too deep,

Iand thus in some seasons necessitating the re- `planting of wholefields.

Referring to the drawings illustrating this particular part of myinvention, A indicates the framework proper; B, the supportingaxle, andC the wheels carrying the axle. Each wheel G is preferably formed of twoparallel disks, rims, or fellies, D connected to a single parts D ofeach wheel is arranged the runner G,which is connected to the two armsof the lever F, and is thus adapted to o'scillatefon the hub E.

i The runner 'G is formed with a tapering body, g, having vertical sidesand a Vfshaped bottom in cross-section, as shown in Fig. 9,

and with a long curved arm, g, which is pivoted to the arm 7L ofabell-crank, H, connected to a rock-shaft, I, which is journaled on theforward part of frame A. A pivoted bar, J, connecting the arm h of thebell-crank with the armf of the lever F, completes the eonnection of therunner with the upper end of said lever. In the end of the arm j" of thelever F is swiveled a rod, K, which screws into the body g of therunner, and forms the main connection of the runner with the lever. Thisrod serves by its screw-connection with the runner to adjust and holdthe' runner at the desired position for making the furrow. Theconnection of the arm f/ of the runner with the lever F by means of thebar J is not essential to the operation of the device, since the runneris rigidly connected to the said lever by the rod K; but the bar J addsstrength to the connection and gives increased power in lifting therunner by means of the rock-shaft I. This rock-shaft is connected to ahand-lever, L, bya bar, M, and is to be set by means of the rack N, withwhich a pawl on the lever engages. The lower part of the curved arm gf,at the point g2, where it unites with the body of the runner, is madestraight, in order that when the bell-crank is oscillated in thedirection of the arrow, Fig. 2, the body and armvof loo the runner mayswing rearward out of contact with the ground, the said straight part g2being then brought into a horizontal Vposition along the surface of theground.

To connect the runner or furrow-opener with the spout of the hopper, theformer is providcd with a chute, O, which is rigidly attached to therear end of the body of the runner, and forms a sliding joint with thespout. In such case the hoppers P will be supported on a supplementalframe, Q., hinged to the frame A at R, and supported on casters S, asshown in Figs. 2 and 8. Instead of this arrangement, however, I maysupport thehoppers on the runners by means of the chiites O, and bracethem by arms connected to levers F in such 'manner that they shall movewith the adjustment of the runners; but where the sliding connection ismade by the chute and spout byv making the chute slightly larger thanthe spout, which is arranged therein, the chute will have sufficientplay thereon to accommodate the movement of the runners when the latterare lifted out of the ground. The hoppers are provided with my improveddropper, by which I provide for dropping an exact number of grains ofcorn in each hill. This dropper consists of a slide, T, or rotary diskT, having a given number of cups, U, each large enough to contain onegrain only, and arranged in rows, which rows are adapted to delivertheir grains in turn at separate movements of the dropper.

@ver the delivery-openiiig V in the bottom of the hopper, and above theslide or disk, is secured a guard or cut-oif, IV, having openings Y inits sides, which register with the cups U. Inside this guard, which isbox-shaped, is arranged opposite to each opening Y a scraper or valve,Z, consisting of an angular plate pivoted at one end near the centerofthe guard, with its center or angle opposite io the opening, and helddown in a yielding manner upon the upper surface of the slide or disk bya spring, A, and a weight, B', resting on the spr'in 0'( Suitablepartitions are to be arranged in the guard WV, for holding the weightsin pcsition. rlhe plates or valves serve to brush off any second orthird grain that may be partially held by any of the cups, the angle ofthe valves and their yielding character preventing any cutting orcracking of the grains. To guide the grains into-the cups the hoppersare provided with longitudinal or circular ribs C,according to thecharacter of the dropper, which ribs have their sides sloping to thecups. These ribs are secured to the hoppers just above the slide ordisks of the dropper. Vhen the number of grains planted to a hill is tobe lessened, a number of the cups are to be covered by se-V curing aplate over them. There the slidedropper is used, a plate, D', as shownin Fig. 5, is to be bolted to one side of the hopper, with its lower endbraced against one of the ribs C. By means of a suitable slot in theplate, it may be adj Listed to cover any number of holes or cupsdesired. Vhere the rotary dropper is used, as shown in Fig. 6, a disk,E', is to be bolted to the center of the disk, with its edge restingagainst one ofthe circular ribs. The disk is to be made somewhat convexon top to guide the grain outward to the open cups. Each hopper is to beprovided with a series of such plates of different sizes, Ya larger orsmaller one being used, according to the number of cups to be left open.In Fig. 7', F indicates the usual means for rotating the dropper.

The coverer G consists of two plates or shares, which are set in anapproximately vertical position and connected by a cross-bar, H,arranged near their centers. rlhe forward ends of the plates are pivotedto the ruimer or chiite, as shown in Fig. 2, with the chute arrangedbetween them to convey the grain to the furrow just in the rear of therunner. The plates are to be arranged sufficiently far apart to stridethe furrow, and they incline slightly toward each other at the rear, inorder that they shall rake the soil inward to the center, forming acontinuous inound,which is pressed by the casters following at the rearof the planter.

To hold the coverer down in the` soil at the desired depth, thecross-bar H is provided with an opening, in which a rod, I, connected tothe chiite, is loosely arranged, and a spring, J, is arranged on the rodbetween the bar H and anut, K, screwing on the rod. The spring, thetension of which is regulated by the screw and nut, serves to hold thecoverer down in a rm but yielding manner, so that it will pass overobstructions without danger of breakage.

L M are rock-shafts carrying scrapers for the wheels and casters, and NN are treadles for operating the same. O P are seats for the operators.

Vhat I claim isl. The combination, withv the main axle in aseed-planter, of the runners or furrow-openers arranged underneath thesaid aXle and attached thereto, whereby the weight of the machine shallsink the runners into the ground, and the supportingwheels on said axleshall serve as gages for the runners to regulate the depth of furrow,substantially as specified.

2. rIhe combination, with the main axle in a seed-planter, of therunners or furrow-openers arranged underneath the said aXle, and pivotedon said axle or the hubs of its wheels, and the supporting-wheels formedwith two rims each, which stride the runners to serve as gages for thesame while the weight of the machine forces the runners into the ground,substantially as speciiied.

3. The combination of the wheels, each formed with two rims secured to asingle hub, the levers j ouriialed on the cent al part of the said hubs,and the runners arranged under the aXle, between the rims of thewheels,-and jour- 'naled on a rock-shait at their forward ends, 'andmeans for connecting the forward and rear ends of the runners to theends of the said levers, substantially as specified.

IOO

IIO

4. The combination of the wheels, formed as described, the leversjournaled on the central part of the hubs of the wheels and having upperand lower arms, the runners connected to a rock-shaft at their forwardends and arranged to extend back under the hubs, the bars`connecting therock-shaft with the upper arms of the said levers, and means foroperating and controlling the rock-shaft, and the swiveled screw-rodsconnecting the runners at their rear ends with the lower arms of thesaid levers, substantially as specified. 4

5. The combination, with the runners formed with chutes for conveyingthe grain from the hoppers or hopper-spouts tothe furrows, of thecover-ers, each consisting of two approximately-vertical plates orshares connected together and pivoted to the runners or chutes, and theadjusting springs and screws arranged between the chutes and coverers,substantially as specified.

6. The combination, with the hoppers, of the dropper having theseed-cups arranged in rows, the cups of each of which deliver theirgrains together, the guard made box-shaped, with openings at the sides,and having pivoted angular valves arranged to close said openings, andsprings and weights for controlling the valves, substantially asspecified.

7.v The combination, with the hoppers and the droppers having theseed-cups arranged in rows, which rows in nturn deliver their i grainstogether, of the ribs for guiding the grain into the cups, andthe plateor plates for covering a number of the cups to lessen the quantity ofdrops, substantially as specified.

EUGENE W. VEST.

Witnesses:

A. G. LYNE, SoLon C. KEMON.

